Episode 4 The Sheriffs Are Coming

Meet the Sheriffs. Let's go and introduce ourselves.

We're here today to execute a High Court writ.

Their job is to get you your money back.

It's an arrestable offence to stop me doing my job.

If you've been ripped off and don't know where to turn...

I'm not waiting any more. I'm ordered to seize goods to clear this debt.

..if you've been to court but still not been paid what you're owed...

Why don't you tell me who you are?

This is a crock, you need to pay this.

It's time to call the Sheriffs.

I've seized your car, sir.

You can let us through the door or we'll go through the window.

They're enforcement officers of the High Court

and the law says they're on your side.

Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up:

When Charandeep Sandhu arranged to have his spectacular wedding filmed,

he never dreamt it would take over 18 months

to see the disappointing results.

Their company is called A Dream Wedding, they need to rename that to

A Nightmare Wedding because that's what they've left us with.

Will sheriffs Lawrence and Kev be able to get Charandeep's money

from the reluctant business owner?

Are you going to pay in full, sir?

Right, I'll get the crowbar out of my van.

Cambridgeshire garage owner Stuart Pearson sold Laura Windley

a car with multiple problems.

Now he's failed to give her the money back.

Can Sheriffs Darryl and Mark get Laura her money,

or will they need to take more drastic action?

Lawrie McWilliams went to court

on behalf of ski-instructor son Matthew.

He is entitled to the money

and we would do what was required to get justice.

They won the case - can the Sheriffs get them the money

the court says is theirs?

Well, I'm going to call the locksmith then, sir,

effect entry into the premises and remove all the items.

While much of Britain sleeps,

enforcement officers Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally

are already out on a case that centres around a wedding video.

Just coming up to 6.20 in the morning.

Just coming into Harrow on our way to a residential address.

We are actually looking for a company. Adreamwedding.co.uk Ltd.

They're wedding photographers.

We're looking today to seize goods to the value of ?3,705.57p.

They're on their way to bring a happy day to a very unhappy couple.

This is Charandeep Sandhu.

Three years ago, he was getting married, to Amarjeet.

As with anyone's wedding,

it was to be one of the most important days of his life.

And, as a Sikh, it was to be a week-long extravaganza.

Amarjeet comes from quite a large family

and they were all going to be there.

My family is...quite a lot of them are actually abroad.

They had flown in especially for the wedding.

Our wedding ceremonies, they go on for almost a week or so.

It's just full of fun.

It is one of the most special days of our lives, really.

Especially for Amarjeet.

I know she had been looking forward to this day for such a long time.

And wanting to remember their perfect day forever,

they arranged to have it filmed,

by specialist wedding videographers Adreamwedding.co.uk Ltd.

The company was run by Mr Pankaj Jethwa.

We chose A Dream Wedding,

simply because they had recorded a video of one of our family members,

my sister-in-law, and the video was actually good.

You don't mind paying a little bit extra

if you get good quality at the end of it.

Having paid ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd ?3,000 up front,

with a further ?1,000 to come on receipt of the edited video,

Charandeep and Amarjeet got married.

On the day, it was perfect, because everybody was in a good mood.

We just really had a good time

and it is something that we will obviously cherish

for the rest of our lives, really.

But there was no sign of their wedding video.

They chased it up. For months, there was nothing.

Eventually, after a full year and a half of waiting,

ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd sent them the DVD of their special day.

My wife's reaction was, she basically broke down in tears.

When I was looking at the video,

I realised that there were some problems there.

Most importantly,

some key moments of the wedding never made it onto the video.

See, at this point now,

there was all my family dancing in front of the car.

There were the drummers there, and this is the first part

where the groom's family meet the bride's family officially.

But disappointingly, this was one of the scenes that wasn't on the DVD.

They also spotted some technical problems.

When you watch it on the TV, you cannot have it on a constant volume

because suddenly the sound will drop

and then suddenly the sound will go up.

Of course the missing scenes could never be recaptured,

but the family listed changes that needed to be made to the video,

and informed ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd.

Mr Jethwa agreed to make the adjustments.

Seven months later,

they contacted Charandeep to say the work was finished.

He could have the DVD on payment of the outstanding ?1,000.

Charandeep insisted on a second viewing.

But the bulk of the changes hadn't been made.

We tried to work out a way that we can actually get the job done

and obviously, you wouldn't want to pay the full amount for something

that you're not happy with.

ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd emailed Charandeep,

saying he would be charged ?100 per week

for every week he hadn't paid the outstanding ?1,000.

Charandeep tried to negotiate a deal,

but Mr Jethwa wouldn't respond to his letters.

Charandeep felt he had no option but to take the company to court.

Mr Jethwa contested the case,

but a judge agreed with Charandeep and awarded in his favour.

The company was ordered to refund ?2,500

and send them the finished project within 21 days.

But since that date, Charandeep's not had the money, or the video.

Their company is called A Dream Wedding.

I'll be honest with you, they need to rename that

to A Nightmare Wedding because that's what they've left us with.

It's been a three-year nightmare.

Charandeep and Amarjeet's only hope of seeing their money,

or their wedding DVD, now rests with the sheriffs.

As they approach ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd,

Lawrence shows his soft side.

You've got to have a certain amount of sympathy for the claimant.

It's likely to be the most expensive day of anybody's life, really,

unless you're getting divorced.

You can't relive the day.

It's there and then and it's got to be captured.

Lawrence and Kev have been told that although this is a house,

it's where the video company is based,

and there's a studio in the garage.

So while Lawrence makes the early morning wake-up call,

Kev goes round the back.

But the owner of ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd

is still in the land of dreams.

Morning, sir, looking for ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd.

Mr Jethwa, is it?

Sorry? I'm trying to show you some ID, sir.

Give me a minute, give me a minute.

Mr Pankaj Jethwa is the boss of ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd,

and with our camera present, he wants to talk from behind the door.

No, sir, I'm quite within my rights to stand in the porch.

Are you going to open the door and speak to me and deal with this?

Right, my name's Mr Grix. I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm here to execute a High Court writ against ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd

and I'm here today to seize goods to the value of ?3,705.57p.

The only way to prevent further action is to pay in full.

Are you going to pay in full, sir?

Are you going to pay in full?

Right, well, I'm going to be forcing entry into you photographic studio

out the back of the house then, sir.

OK, I'll get the crowbar out of my van.

The Sheriffs can only get into the house by peaceful means,

but the studio is commercial premises

and they have the right to force entry.

They assess the options.

Mr Jethwa objects.

We will effect entry into your photographic studio

and remove everything if you don't pay.

Who does it belong to, then?

It belongs to your wife?

This needs paying though sir,

otherwise we're going in your studio. Have you got the key to it?

Are you going to open this building, sir,

or am I going to force entry into it?

I'll give you a few minutes, but all I'm going to be entertaining

is you paying or you opening this building

or I will be effecting entry into it, OK?

Lawrence tries to deliver the paperwork.

I just want to give you that because it's got the amount on it,

it's got the amount you need to pay and how to pay it.

It doesn't make any difference to you, so just take it.

It's not serving you with anything, it's a piece of paper

for your information.

We're not waiting outside, you need to be concentrating your mind

on how you're going to get this money together.

Mr Jethwa suggests Lawrence posts him the notice.

There's no letterbox, sir, how do you expect me

to post it through the door?

Yeah. Well, I'm standing in the letter box then, aren't I?

You need to just take the paper from me, sir.

All right, I've left it on the windowsill.

Lawrence thinks Mr Jethwa is playing for time.

Sorry?

What you need to do, then, is open that shed.

He asks for time to get dressed.

OK, you get dressed then, sir.

OK.

He's saying he can't pay and so I said,

is there anybody that can help you with it?

That's what we're trying to do now.

He's very reluctant to let me in that building for some reason

but we will be going in there.

Our camera is asked to leave the property.

With time passing, if Mr Jethwa won't pay,

the only way Lawrence and Kev will get Charandeep the money he's owed

is by forcing entry and seizing goods from the photographic studio.

Kev looks for the crowbar.

Aha!

I'm dressed up, I can talk to you.

Last chance, sir, are you going to open it

or am I going to get it open with the crowbar?

It's commercial premises.

It's a limited company. It has no protection.

It's a detached building, it has no attachments to your residence,

it can be forced entry.

Are you going to open it?

I'm not going to open it, until... Right. Wait a minute!

Are you going to open that building? Yes.

Right, go and do it then. Not now...

Right, I'll rephrase my question, are you going to open it now?

No. Right, then we're going to force entry into it.

Mr Jethwa continues to argue about opening the studio.

Lawrence has had enough.

Go on, Kev, just do it, mate.

With the studio crowbarred open, Mr Jethwa lets the camera back in.

I told you what I was going to do.

We are ordered here to seize goods to clear this debt.

There's plenty to seize, including several computers

and some video equipment.

Make yourselves comfortable, I guess.

All I can say is show you a bit of hospitality.

But despite appearances, the forced entry seems to have had an effect.

Inside the house, the owner's son has paid the debt by bank transfer.

If you can sign there and print there.

Mr Jethwa has a parting shot.

I'm going to let every videographer know

not to do business with these guys.

Charandeep and Amarjeet's family is unlikely to do business

with ADreamWedding.co.uk Ltd again, but now, thanks to the Sheriffs,

they have the money they were owed by the company, who took over

three years and still failed to deliver a satisfactory video.

Obviously, us forcing entry and getting our hands on it

actually forced them to make the payment.

After we filmed, Mr Jethwa asked to put his side of the story.

He explained the scene Charandeep said was missing

was because the cameraman stayed filming the groom

rather than filming the procession.

There was also a complaint about sound quality.

The piece of distortion in the sound could be removed.

If you remove it and just leave the rest of the dancing,

it would be fine.

I'm really angry, really upset about this,

because they never communicated with me.

They never wrote to me, there is

absolutely no document that I received from them

saying, "Pankaj, we are unhappy, can you sort this out?"

If they had complained at that stage,

we would have seen to it, immediately!

In Saxon times, they were sheriffs.

Today, they're Enforcement Officers of the High Court.

Mr Hughes, we're High Court enforcement officers.

They can get you the money that's rightfully yours.

That's ?1,857.90p, which needs to be paid today.

If you have a county court judgment but haven't been paid,

you can pay ?60 to take it to the High Court

for enforcement by the Sheriffs.

So it's a choice of either payment or we have to seize the goods.

If they get you the money you're due,

there is no more to pay.

If the sheriffs are unsuccessful, there's a ?60 admin fee.

He's locked us out, he's ran upstairs and hid!

Even when the Sheriffs successfully enforce a writ

and the defendant pays up, it's not always the end of the story.

This morning, enforcement officers Lawrence and Kev are in the van

heading for a familiar location.

We're heading towards St Albans now, it's just coming up to

10.30 in the morning, we're going to Mediterranean Leisure.

Last year, Lawrence visited the company offices

on behalf of Matthew McWilliams.

Matthew had been a ski instructor for an associated company,

Snowcoach. It was his dream job.

I started skiing when I was eight.

It really is something that I care about, so as soon as I had

the chance to leave university, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

But Matthew soon discovered the job wasn't what he expected.

He was having to deal with complaints from unhappy customers -

lots of them.

All the problems were being put on me

and I felt as if I was having to come up with excuses for a company

that I'd only been working for for a week.

As the season unfolded, it got worse.

Back home, Matthew's dad Lawrence realised

things were going badly wrong.

He was very concerned that he wished he was not in this situation

and he felt an awful lot of stress.

After three difficult and unhappy months,

Matthew felt he had no option but to leave the company.

He handed in his notice, which he worked out, and came back to the UK.

But Mediterranean Leisure hadn't paid him his final wages.

And despite many reassurances, they still weren't paid.

With Dad Lawrence's help,

Matthew took the company to an employment tribunal.

It may have been a bad experience, but I worked my notice,

I did everything I needed to do

so I knew that they owed me that money

and there was no way out of it, really.

At the tribunal, Mediterranean Leisure failed to contest the case,

and the judgement was issued, ordering them to pay the ?647 wages.

When they failed to do it, Matthew eventually turned to the Sheriffs.

Got a High Court writ to execute against Mediterranean Leisure Group.

Managing Director David Stuart threw a spanner in the works,

insisting Mediterranean Leisure was not based here, but in France,

and nothing in the building could be seized.

Lawrence was having none of it, and eventually won the day.

It was a battle, but Matthew McWilliams got the wages he was due.

He just paid in full.

Matthew's dad, Lawrence McWilliams, got the good news

that the money was in the Sheriffs' account.

We received notice that payment had been received in full

towards the end of last year

and we were delighted and relieved that the matter was concluded.

But the McWilliams's delight was short-lived.

We received a formal notification from the High Court

that an interpleader claim had been received.

The payment was being disputed.

The money was still in the Sheriffs' holding account,

and would stay there until this new legal action was complete.

David Stuart of Mediterranean Leisure claimed that the payment

made to Lawrence was invalid because he had paid on a credit card

belonging to one of his other companies,

Mountain Lodge Hotels Ltd,

that had nothing to do with Matthew's employment.

The McWilliamses would have to appear at the High Court,

and if they lost, might have to pay costs.

There are times, particularly lying in bed at night,

where we both thought, "Are we doing the right thing?

"Should we just give up here?"

We kept coming back to the same conclusion -

he was entitled to the money, he should have been paid it

and that we would do what was required to get justice.

At the hearing before a master of the High Court,

Mr Stuart was unable to show that the payment was invalid.

Once again, Mr Stuart would have to pay.

We were both delighted.

It drew a line under what was a really problematic period

for Matthew. And it was just pure relief to see it

satisfactorily concluded.

Finally, Matthew McWilliams received his missing wages.

But Lawrence and Kev are heading back to St Albans,

because that wasn't the end of the matter.

David Stuart had been ordered to pay the McWilliams' court costs,

which were far more than the original wages.

Once again, they haven't been paid.

Determined to get their clients every penny that's owed,

the Sheriffs are stepping up to the mark.

We've got two writs today. We're looking for ?1,602.30p

on one of them and ?1,688.67p on the other.

The second writ is for the Sheriffs' own court costs.

Parked up in St Albans, the signs don't look promising.

It doesn't look too good when you pull up

and there are signs saying "offices for sale".

But it seems the companies are at home.

There's still an office up there, look, that window's open.

Ah, buzzer.

Hello there, I'm looking for Mountain Lodge Hotels

or Cantabrica Air Brokers.

The woman says that there's no-one there from those companies.

My name's Mr Grix. I'm an Enforcement Officer.

I'm here with some High Court writs

so I need to come in and verify for myself that there's nobody in.

While they wait for the door to be opened,

Lawrence wants to make sure all entrances are covered.

Just have a squiz round the back, mate,

just in case, cos I don't know if there's a back door.

Meanwhile the intercom woman has news -

Lawrence isn't getting in.

Your director says you're not allowed to let me in?

Because of what?

Lawrence is convinced he's found the place

the companies on the writ are trading from,

and that means he WILL be going in.

I have met Mr Stuart before.

He's got five minutes to call me before I call locksmiths, OK?

Thank you.

There's a back door, but it's padlocked from the outside so it's not used.

There's three motors down there, nothing any good.

The director says she's not allowed to let me in

cos it's a different company. "Who's your director?"

"Mr Stewart, the director of our companies."

With Lawrence's ultimatum about to run out, he gets a call.

Hello, Mr Grix speaking.

Ah, Mr Stewart, yeah, it's Mr Grix, the enforcement officer.

But Mr Stewart doesn't want to let Lawrence in.

Right, well, I'm going to call a locksmith then, sir,

effect entry into the premises and remove all the items.

OK then, sir, you do that.

He's calling the police.

Shall we see if Andy's around?

Yeah, give him a buzz, mate, and see if he's around.

It looks like the Sheriffs will have to use their power

to force entry to a commercial premises.

Kev calls one of the lock companies they regularly use.

Mr Stewart is going to be footing the bill.

Yeah, he's on his way, sat nav's giving him 50 minutes.

Lovely-jubbly.

Right, might as well sit in the van and have a coffee then.

A caffeine break later, and there's still no sign of Mr Stewart.

But his solicitor is on the phone.

We're effecting entry into a commercial premises

under a High Court writ of Fieri Facias.

If you don't understand all the implications of that

and what it carries with it,

then I respectfully suggest you speak to someone who does.

Rest assured, we will be forcing entry

if we're not allowed peaceful entry,

and we will be removing goods from those premises today

if these writs aren't paid in full.

Right, bye-bye.

With the locksmith on the way, and the prospect of the bill

getting even higher, someone comes out of the building to talk.

If he wanted to pay it, how could he pay it?

Bank transfer, credit card, debit card...

Is that what he's going to do?

That's what I'm trying to persuade him to do. Oh, right.

At the moment, worst case scenario, it's going to be 3,495.97p.

The pressure seems to be paying off.

And to prove the Sheriffs weren't bluffing, here comes the locksmith.

The Lockfather!

Matching vans, innit?

But, just in time, the company confirms they are going to pay.

How much did you say it was for the card?

Debit card is it? ?5.

Our camera is asked to stay outside

while Lawrence goes to collect the payment.

So it comes out ?3,535.97p.

Thanks very much, bye-bye.

Full payment again, like that.

On to the next one. Let's rock.

It's been another battle between Lawrence

and the company director, David Stewart.

But, by applying a little pressure and knowing his rights,

Lawrence prevailed again.

He's got young ski instructor Matthew McWilliams

the court costs a judge said he was due

but which he couldn't get without the help of the Sheriffs.

Enforcement officers Craig Wild and Tom Coyle are heading

into Kidderminster on a job that makes Tom feel rather grave.

The company name is Memorials, so doom and gloom.

The balance we're after today is ?3,975.42p.

It's just a case of getting out there, knocking on the door

and see what we can find, asset-wise.

Kidderminster Memorials is a family-run stonemasons,

but they've failed to pay one of their suppliers.

They were taken to court,

and now the Sheriffs are heading for the front door

looking for the business owner and aiming to get the debt paid today.

Hello.

Hello, mate. We're High Court Enforcement Officers.

We're here today to execute a High Court writ.

The man with the debt is Scott Boraston,

and he's asked our camera to remain outside.

He says he knows about the debt,

but had no idea it was going to court.

He says he's moved premises,

so Craig enquires to see if the company made

the necessary arrangements to ensure it receives its post.

Did you get a Post Office redirection?

Knowing that you owe some money to somebody

and moving from one premises to another,

it's down to you to utilise the postal service

to get redirection of mail.

Scott heads off to call his dad, the local undertaker.

Craig and Tom start listing the property they're going to seize.

Brother phone-fax. One Kodak printer.

Hello, sir.

Scott's father is soon on the phone for Craig.

Unfortunately, sir, it has to be the full amount,

and it's ?3,975.42p.

OK, sir. I'll put you back on to Scott, one second.

The defendant claims he never knew anything about the court case

in this situation, so therefore he didn't know he had to pay.

He was aware that he owed the money,

and obviously we've made it quite clear that under the terms

of the court order today, that needs to be resolved by way of payment.

I understand his father's coming round in which to discharge

the account, so hopefully we'll get it resolved

by way of payment in full.

A few minutes later, Scott's dad, Mr Keith Boraston, arrives.

He's not happy to see the Sheriffs, or our camera.

Don't give me that BLEEP about the public highway.

He also asks us to stay outside.

Scott's dad says they've had no paperwork from the court.

But Craig explains that he has a duty to enforce the writ,

as the judgement still stands today.

You put yourselves in their shoes.

You've done the service, you've sent the invoices out,

you haven't been paid, the law's on your side,

you go through the legal process...

But, faced with two Sheriffs and a live writ,

Mr Boraston understands that the debt must be paid.

And, a few minutes later, that's exactly what happens.

Undertaker Keith Boraston pays on behalf of his son.

If I can just get you to sign just there.

It means the debt will be settled, and goods won't be removed.

Thank you very much, Mr Boraston. Take care, Scott.

Take care of yourself. Bye-bye now.

With the debt settled, Mr Boraston puts his side of the story.

If we'd have known the money was owed

and they'd sent the invoices here,

we'd have paid the bill hands down.

The guys have gone away with their ?4,000,

and, yeah, I've helped him out with a bit of money to keep him going.

He looks like the gay singer out of Westlife, that always helps.

Whereas I look like Captain Birdseye off the fish finger box.

A successful outcome for the Sheriffs,

which means the claimant will be paid in full.

It's another early start

for Enforcement Officers Lawrence and Kev.

Today they're in Cambridgeshire to help a car owner get ?6,000

from garage owner Stuart Pearson, who trades as Arrington Motors.

The lady bought a vehicle from Mr Pearson

and it spent most of the first month back with him being repaired.

She returned it and asked for a full refund, which he agreed to,

but then he hasn't paid.

Stuart Pearson didn't contest the case,

and the judgment ordered that Laura Windley should receive her money.

But she wasn't paid, so she's got the Sheriffs in.

Lawrence knows a thing or two about second-hand cars.

I've bought a couple of lemons in the past.

Slice them up and put them in my gin and tonic!

This is what I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Arrington Motor Company.

But at Arrington Motors

there's no sign of the defendant, Stuart Pearson.

Don't think they're here, are they? Eh?

It's shut, innit? Yeah.

But conveniently Mr Pearson has left his phone number.

Normally, Lawrence would make the call,

but he has no mobile reception, so Kev gets his chance.

Hi there, is that Mr Pearson?

We're High Court Enforcement Officers, we're just at your car lot.

We've got a High Court writ against yourself.

We're here to seize and possibly remove goods

unless the amount is paid.

There's ?7,551 outstanding.

Mr Pearson says he had made a proposal to pay the money.

If you've put in that proposal, she doesn't have to accept that.

She's then transferred it up to the High Court for enforcement,

which is why we're here and we're here for assets

and the only way to stop that -

to prevent us from seizing and removing assets -

is by payment in full. There's not any leeway on it,

you know, we are here for full payment.

We're not in a position to take part payment or anything, unfortunately.

All right. Cheers, bye-bye.

It's about 40 minutes away. All right.

Mr Pearson says that most of the cars on the forecourt

are on SOR or "sale or return", but at least four do belong to him.

If they don't get payment today, the cars could be towed

and auctioned to get Laura her money back.

So you've got that, that's his. That one.

Yeah, Range Rover's a bit rough. Yeah.

While they wait for Mr Pearson, Kev is keen to get feedback

on his phone technique from the master of the art, Lawrence.

Was that all right on the phone?

Yeah, you didn't say anything wrong, I'd have just hurried him up more.

"Get down here or your cars are going!"

You listened to his story a bit more than I would. Really?

You might have to listen to it face-to-face, but you've got to get him down here.

But, for now, all they can do is wait

and try to keep themselves entertained.

# So just you keep me near I'll be so good for you

# I could be so good for you. #

But their singing in the rain is brought to a halt

by the arrival of the garage owner.

Mr Pearson, is it? I'll show you some ID.

We're asked to stay outside.

Since Kev's phone call,

it seems Mr Pearson has been arranging to get the money.

So you say you've got the money?

Mr Pearson says he's going to pay in cash, but it will take

an hour for the man he's borrowing it off to come round with the money.

He can't do it by transfer or anything from where he is?

It's not a case of you can go to him and get it, or...?

To keep pressure up, Lawrence and Kev

try to nail down which cars they could legally take away.

Right, my colleague's going to start taking an inventory

of the vehicles outside.

Have you got any proof here of the ones that are on SOR?

What one's aren't, more importantly?

Show us a photo of the other one, anyway.

As Mr Pearson identifies the vehicles not on sale or return...

You've got the Peugeot and a BM here.

..it seems his friend with the cash

is going to take longer than expected.

Mr Pearson's been OK with us, but I've obviously explained to him

that we're not going to go anywhere until it is paid.

So it's now just a case of waiting for a phone call from his friend.

But it's not going to happen any time soon.

The friend is delayed and the money won't be here until more like 6pm.

Lawrence has had enough for today.

There are seven cars belonging to Mr Pearson

with enough value to clear the debt.

He takes walking possession of the seven cars.

They'll stay here, but no longer belong to Mr Pearson,

who has until the next day to pay, or risk losing the cars permanently.

So I'll give you till midday tomorrow and then you won't see us again.

Cheers.

Basically, it's a case of trust, I trust him.

I've given him till noon tomorrow to pay in ?6,000 and then the balance

just after the weekend, and I've no doubt he will do that.

If I had any doubts, I wouldn't have made the arrangement.

Famous last words possibly, but we usually get it right,

we're fairly good at judging people by now.

We'll see later if Lawrence's trust in Stuart Pearson is repaid.

Enforcement Officers Marc Newton and Kev McNally are out on a job

that has "easy" written all over it.

OK, we are in Harrow looking for Easy Electrix Ltd.

They've got a debt outstanding of ?5,245.

Easy Electrix is anything BUT easy to find.

138. There - Light and Water. 138, 140...

142 to 144, is that Light and Water?

That ain't what we want, is it? That's not what we've got.

Electric City?

No, that ain't what we've got though, is it? That's not what we've got, Easy Electrix.

D'you want to run up and I'll drive up?

At first glance it doesn't look like Easy Electrix are at the address that we've got,

so we'll have a run in and see if the company we're after

are still there or if they know anything about 'em.

It doesn't look like it from the shop frontage.

Looking for Easy Electrix Ltd. Yeah, this is us.

Oh, you're Easy Electrix Ltd? Yes. OK.

I'm a High Court Enforcement Officer.

I've got a High Court writ to execute against Easy Electrix Ltd.

You've got this amount outstanding.

We're here to execute this.

We're here to seize goods unless the debt's paid in full.

?5,000? That's quite a lot.

Finding Easy Electrix turned out to be easy after all.

But what about getting them to pay?

If the company decides not to pay, Kev has already seen

a lot of high-value kitchen appliances he could seize.

Kev's found someone who can help,

but he seems surprised at the size of the debt.

Obviously now it's been transferred up to the High Court,

so you've incurred costs...

For the transfer up to the High Court

you wouldn't have received any paperwork.

Our camera is asked to leave.

The Easy Electrix manager insists the debt was less than ?5,000

and that they have already paid off some of it in instalments.

MARC: How long you been paying them instalments over?

You were paying them up till June?

The guy has paid the claimant some of the money.

It's about ?1,800 that he's paid him direct, prior to it going to court,

so this should be taken off the judgement,

which our office has just rung the claimant

and he's agreed that, yeah, this money has been paid.

The figure now, it's like ?3,388 that he owes.

With the debt revised down, the company agrees to pay,

but they are having difficulty paying right now.

It's not us being difficult, we haven't got a choice in the matter.

It's not for us to change, decide or dispute.

The company is asking the sheriffs to come back tomorrow.

I understand and I'm listening, but the answer's no.

Can't do it, there's no-one to speak to.

We're the officers in charge of this.

As is so often the case, the sheriffs' power to seize

and then sell goods is what proves persuasive in the end.

It was a bit of a battle to get it.

He kept asking us to come back tomorrow morning,

but, yeah, we got the payment in the end.

So, we got ?1,200 in cash...

I think it was roughly ?1,200 on a card payment

and then the balance of about ?900 was done via bank transfer.

Full payment. Job done. Everything all paid.

Easy Electrix told us they...

Back in Cambridgeshire,

the story of Arrington Cars has taken an unexpected twist.

When the sheriffs were last here, it took owner Stuart Pearson hours

and he still didn't raise the ?6,000 they were seeking

on behalf of Laura Windley,

who had been sold a car with many faults.

Lawrence decided to give Mr Pearson another chance.

Basically, it's a case of trust.

I trust him, I've given him till noon tomorrow to pay in ?6,000

and then the balance.

But Lawrence's faith in Mr Pearson was misjudged.

Neither the ?6,000 nor the balance was paid,

and now Enforcement Officers Darryl Oreton and Mark Povey

are hoping to finish the job.

We've got a list of vehicles that were seized on the first attendance

and we'll be removing those.

He's had plenty of opportunity to pay, you know,

in two weeks really, and he hasn't paid a penny.

As Darryl and Mark arrive at Arrington Motors,

there's no sign of Mr Pearson. No-one here.

Darryl calls Mr Pearson's mobile.

It is international, innit?

He's on holiday.

The only way Darryl will get money today is to tow away

Mr Pearson's cars and have them auctioned.

When Lawrence and Kev were here, they seized seven cars...

A silver BM.

..and these are the ones Darryl and Mark will take.

But first, they have to find them.

The Ford KA is there...

There's no red Range Rover, is there?

That's the Kia, that's there.

That's the Renault Scenic, so we've got one, two... We've got three.

Several cars now owned by the court aren't there.

It looks like we've got four missing.

The original claim was for about ?6,000, but because Mr Pearson

kept the sheriffs waiting all day last time,

and they've had to visit a second time,

costs are mounting up and the claim is now at ?8,800.

The plan is now... Obviously, we've tried to get hold of him.

He's not here. We'd seized seven cars previously,

there's three of them still here,

so we're going to have those three removed

and we're organising a removal truck...or two...or three.

Oh, well, might as well get comfy.

Getting the tow trucks to Royston is going to take some time,

but as Enforcement Officers,

Darryl and Mark are experts at waiting.

Time to get out the packed lunch.

Cheese and Branston.

After a bit more expert waiting around, the tow truck arrives.

But there's a problem.

With no-one from Arrington Motors on site,

there are no keys or documents available for any of the cars.

This makes them less valuable at auction.

But there's a more immediate issue -

how to move the keyless cars without damaging them.

The recovery man makes short work of the KA.

Not to be outdone, Darryl tries the boot of the Renault.

Da-dah!

But Darryl isn't having any luck with the Kia.

I ain't got the magic on this one.

At last the end is in sight.

The first two cars are being towed

and the problem of the locked Kia will be sorted by the recovery firm.

He's going to take these to the storage place now,

so we can go to our next job.

The cars will be stored

and then if Mr Pearson has not settled the debt, auctioned.

Either way, Darryl reckons the absent garage owner will get

an unwelcome surprise when he returns to the UK.

I imagine when he first pulls onto the forecourt,

he'll probably think they've been stolen.

He may be back before they're actually sold

and he may be able to get the money paid.

Obviously he's going to have third party costs on top of that now.

His bill's just getting bigger and bigger.

But as Darryl feared, the cars weren't worth enough

to pay Laura Windley all the money she's due.

So on a bright autumn morning, Lawrence and Kev visit once again.

Darryl and Mark did what they could,

and taking the cars certainly had an effect...

though not the one they were expecting.

Morning, mate.

Lawrence asks the workers next door if anyone's seen Mr Pearson.

Apparently he moved out about a month ago.

So it must have been pretty much after Darryl took the cars.

Darryl and Mark did what they could,

and taking the cars certainly had an effect...

though not the one they were expecting.

It appears he moved out after Darryl took his cars, and he's...gone.

But not forgotten.

The auction of the three cars means the sheriffs have got

Laura Windley some of her money.

And if she wants them to, they'll pursue Stuart Pearson for the rest.